The present invention relates to a bag dispensing system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for dispensing plastic bags where each bag is separated from a roll of bags retained within the dispenser.
In supermarkets and other types of food markets, fruits, vegetables, and other produce are displayed in bulk, on tables or in open coolers. Plastic bags are provided for consumers who want them for their produce selections. These produce bags are most frequently dispensed from cylindrical rolls mounted horizontally or vertically. The top of each bag is attached to the bottom of the next bag. Each bag may be separated from the next bag along a perforated line that defines the end of one bag and the start of the next bag. By grabbing a bag with one hand and the next bag with the other hand, and then pulling, the consumer can separate the two bags along the perforation line. Sometimes consumers will tear or stretch the bags when trying to separate them or attempt to simply jerk the bag from the roll causing it to unravel. Additionally, after a bag has been taken from the roll, the next bag may lie flat on the surface of the roll, making it very difficult to find or peel from the roll. When a roll of bags is placed in an open dispenser the core on which the bags are rolled has a tendency, when bags are removed, to pop out of the guides retaining the roll in proper position within the dispenser.
Simhaee, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,585, discloses a plastic bag dispenser that attempts to overcome some of the problems inherent in existing dispensers by enabling the consumer to tear the bags with one hand without the bags unraveling by pulling the bags horizontally across a single finger and downwardly to separate the bags. This type of bag dispenser, however, does not include a tensioning member to prevent the rolls of bags from unraveling as the roll reaches a smaller diameter nor does it include means to retain the roll of bags within a guide channel.
An improved bag dispenser is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,019 to Morris, which discloses a wire frame bag dispenser having tensioning fingers along the core holding channels to retard the removal of bags from a roll. However, the tension provided by the fingers deters the core from easily descending through the channels as the roll gets smaller. In addition, it does not provide means to retain the roll of bags within a guide channel.
There remains a need for a bag dispenser that operates smoothly, is easy to use, can be easily mounted in various orientations, has a reliable brake for rolls as the diameter of the roll gets smaller, and is designed so that the rolls will not pop out of the channels when a bag is removed by, for example, jerking the bag.